New Dart trains have automatic wheelchair ramps and batteries extend route to Louth

Up to 750 new Dart carriages will have automatic wheelchair ramps and be open-plan between linked units to make people feel safer.

The new carriages, 37 of which are due to come into service next year, will also have cantilevered seats so people can store objects beneath them or make it easier to bring pets on board.

Screens in each carriage, and in stations, will show which carriages have more space available in them.

A modified system for racking bicycles is also on the new trains, which were revealed to the public at this year’s international Transport Research Arena conference, held in Dublin for the first time.

The new trains will be adapted to use 840kW batteries that will enable the train to travel northwards from Malahide to Drogheda, Co Louth, a section of the Dart line that currently has no overhead electric cabling.

When the train arrives at Drogheda, the giant batteries will take 18 minutes to recharge as another unit is swapped in for the return journey.

Once overhead cabling is available on more sections of rail track, the batteries may then no longer be needed.

The batteries, described by Irish Rail as an interim solution to enable a switch from diesel to electric power, are guaranteed not to fall below 70pc of range health in nine years, after which Irish Rail will consider using them as an alternative power source.

“It’s a completely different train to the current one,” an Irish Rail spokesperson told the Irish Independent as they showcased the new carriages.

“At the moment, people often have to ring ahead if they want a ramp,” the spokesperson said, referring to wheelchair and disability access to carriages.

“They won’t any more. Every carriage has these automated ramps which come out before the doors open. It’s a game-changer.”

USB power outlets for phones will also now be placed between seats to avoid passengers needing to reach around other passengers or have wires trailing across laps.

Up to 750 of the new carriages within a 10-year “framework” have been requested by Irish Rail from French train company Alstom. While 37 of these are currently in the process of being delivered, another order of 20 is imminent within the framework agreement, which has no minimum order.

The new carriages are part of a plan to increase capacity on Ireland’s rail network as the population of the country continues to grow.